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Amazing! Stay Cool With This Solar Powered Air Cooler! [DIY]

Beat the heat with this solar powered air cooler! This “Blast Chiller” air cooler is great for home, the workplace, and especially great when camping. More importantly, this DIY project won’t break the bank. Check this out.

Solar Powered Air Cooler | Keeping Cool Off The Grid

How It Works

Solar powered air conditioning is not a new concept. For this particular solar powered air cooler, it works by threading cold water through the bucket, before being cooled the window screen and dissipated by the fan. It’s a simple yet highly effective concept, and one that you can do yourself.

Why Should I Do This?

Living off the grid has many advantages, but a lot of disadvantages as well. One of the things you’ll have to contend with, especially if you live more in the southern parts, is really hot summers. Add the fact that temperatures are rising every year, and you’ll find that you’ll be sweating like a pig at the butcher’s.

While you can definitely fork out the cash for a solar air conditioner, you can save some money by making one yourself.

Benefits of A Solar Powered Air Cooler

When the temperature goes up in your safehouse, this might lead to discomfort, dehydration, and even death. Having a solar air conditioner such as this one can spell the difference between comfort and… well, potentially deadly discomfort. Having one of these babies in your safehouse will make SHTF situations a lot more bearable.

Step 1: First, start by filling the bucket with two gallons of water.

Step 2: Next, cut circular holes around the bucket, making sure they are all well above the water line. Then, vertically drill a pair of two holes, spacing each pair every 5-6 inches. These holes should be roughly 1.5 inches in diameter. Between these pairs, drill a single hole, 2 inches in diameter.

Step 3: Next, you need to cut down the cooling pad. You will want it to be about 13-14 inches high, and roughly 30-31 inches around. This is roughly the measurement of the bucket.

Step 4: After that, take a regular window screen and double layer between the bucket and the cooling pad. You may also use garden cloth. This will help hold in the moisture of the cooling pad away from direct contact with the air holes.

Step 5: Next, trace the circular edge of the fan on top of the lid and cut.

Step 6: After that’s done, place the fan in the hole. It should fit nicely in your solar powered air cooler without falling through.

Step 7: Next, drop the fountain pump in the bottom and connect the 1/4 inch aquarium tubing. Then, wrap the tubing around the bucket, and once again at top of the bucket. Clamp off the end of the hose to keep the water from escaping.

Step 8: To turn this into a soaker hose, pin along the length of the hose, about every inch around the diameter of the hose. This will saturate the cooling pad.

Step 9: Finally, hook up the fan to the solar panel, and you are set! Your solar powered air cooler should get between 65-40 degrees, depending on how cold the water is. Add ice if you want cooler air.

Optional:

If you are going camping, you can also add a 90 degree piece of PVC and dryer vent hose to isolate the air.

Check out the video tutorial to discover how to make your own solar powered air cooler:

Having a solar air conditioner such as this one can make your safehouse – and in effect, your whole experience – a lot more bearable. Not only is it convenient to have, it doesn’t even have to be powered from the grid. It takes very little resources to make, and is easy enough that you can teach even the youngest members of your family on how to maintain it. That said, we hope to see your own homemade solar powered air conditioners soon!

Comments

It is great for drier climes, like western KS y OK or central y northern AZ. or where the humidity is low. less than 25% RH works best. Above that things start to get sticky. Used to install and service the things there

But if one resides in more humid climes, by pumping in moist air is makes matters worse, including excess mold build up.

In humid areas just running a 12 volt fan blowing directly on your body will be cooler than running a swamp cooler. The industry name for them is evaporative cooler. I am not sure about western Kansas, but they were big in SoCal in the inland desert areas back in the 50s and 60s. Even had them for cars, otherwise one used the 4/65 cooling system — rolled down 4 windows and drove 65 mph. I am not sure if any cars had a/c in the 50s and 60s. At least in my price range they didn’t. Maybe top of the line Caddies, Buicks, Lincolns etc., but anything I could afford didn’t. In the pioneer days in AZ before electricity and the advanced system of swamp coolers, pioneers used to hang wet sheets by the windows to cool off a house in the summer.

Just to confirm my suspicions, I experimented with a Zeer Pot-In-Pot evaporative cooler along the Gulf Coast. At best, I saw a 5 degree temperature drop and realistically that drop may have only been because the wet sand acted as an insulator and averaging out the day and night temperatures (never measured temps at night).

For those who live in more humid climates, could we use the other bucket a/c project that uses a frozen gallon of water in the bucket rather than the water and pump system?? These projects are still very new to me, so I’m waiting to hear what others are saying that have tried them…

Please give us a way to PRINT these tutorials. If we are out trying to build this, it’s very impractical, if not impossible, to run back in to the computer. Printed material would go with us to the store to be sure we get exactly what we need, as well.

I love this project but I want to build one for myself as our central ac unit has gone up and will cost thousands (that I dont have to repair or replace) where did you get the fan could you possibly post a link? I could not find a fan small enough and without a mount to fit the bucket.

It isn’t submersible, so you will have to purchase the inexpensive riser tube that goes with it, And Mount the Tube thru the top so the powerhead doesnt get wet, But just go to any pet or aquarium store and get an aquarium filter part called a powerhead. Im pretty sure they Make 12v models that run on batteries. If Not, A good aquarium, outdoor decorating, pool and patio or Pond specialty shop- Just call and make sure they carry submersible pond filter pumps. Filter Floss can work instead of cooler wrap and it may be cheaper. I Guess what Im trying to say is find an aquarium/pond/patio shop And they will have Everything U need.

Hi Natalie I have a few questions? What kind of fan is that and where did you get it ? Also how are you powering the fan and the fountain pump? And how and what are you using to hook into the solar panel?

This will only work until the humidity in the air rises then it will no longer transfer the heat. It requires fresh air intake and exhaust in a building for this to work more than a few minutes in an enclosed space.

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12 volt source of power is from a long cable connected to your vehicle battery. A much simpler cooler is to wear only a T shirt. Spray a little water on it, then let the fan blow on you. You will freeze so fast that you will have to get much further from the fan or slow it way down. A 2 or 4 watt fan should be plenty. Fans played on naked legs are far more effective than elsewhere being fanned.

[…] the opposite side of the spectrum, a solar-powered air cooler can keep a space cool. This DIY solar-powered air cooler uses a standard five-gallon shop bucket, a window screen, a computer fan, and a few other bits and […]

[…] the opposite side of the spectrum, a solar-powered air cooler can keep a space cool. This DIY solar-powered air cooler uses a standard five-gallon shop bucket, a window screen, a computer fan, and a few other bits and […]

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